Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang mentioned that discussions with the White House regarding the permission for the American AI chip manufacturer Nvidia to sell a less advanced version of its upcoming next-generation GPU chip to China will be a lengthy process.
During a Fox Business Network interview on "The Claman Countdown," when inquired about the talks on the sale of Blackwell chips to China, Huang indicated that these conversations had commenced.
He remarked, "The conversation will take a while, but ... President Trump recognizes that having the world develop AI using American technology benefits the US in the AI competition."
Earlier this month, Trump indicated he might approve Nvidia to sell a reduced-capability version of the chip in China, specifying that it would possess 30-50 percent less capacity than the standard model.
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This consideration arises amid significant concerns in Washington that China could leverage US AI technology to enhance its military strength.
Advocates for a tough stance on China worry that permitting even a limited sale of Blackwell chips to China could enable Beijing to gain access to more sophisticated computing resources from the US, while both nations continue to vie for dominance in technology.
Nvidia is working on a new chip for the Chinese market that will be a lower-cost variant of its latest cutting-edge AI Blackwell chips.
Nvidia's decision to exclude any potential sales to China from its current quarter forecasts highlights the unpredictability stemming from U.S.-China trade tensions, despite Nvidia having reached a deal with President Trump for export licenses in exchange for 15 percent of its sales of H20 AI chips targeting China. Huang stated that the company has yet to receive any H20 chip orders from China.
When asked if he would be compelled to agree to Trump's demand for 15 percent of the Blackwell chip sales to China, Huang implied that he is amenable to the idea.
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"I don’t know if it’s ‘forced to say yes,’ but in the end, it’s beneficial for the global community, including our country, to be able to conduct sales in China,” Huang noted. “So, whatever steps are necessary for us to gain approval to sell in China is acceptable to us."
He estimated that the AI market size in China is around $50 billion for Nvidia. "I hope to be able to return and capture a substantial portion of that $50 billion," Huang expressed.